High-Availability and Cost-Effective Broadband Connectivity for Carriers and Mission-Critical Applications

Vancouver, Canada 5 November 2001 - fSONA is proud to announce the latest in the SONAbeam™ family of free-space optical wireless systems - the SONAbeam 155-S. The first in a series of products optimized for high-availability links under 2500 meters (1.6 miles), the SONAbeam 155-S is ideal for LAN bridging and last-mile connectivity. With a choice of either OC-3 or Fast Ethernet capacity, the SONAbeam easily integrates with current network protocols and is a superior stepping-stone to next generation networks. The SONAbeam's 1550 nm operating wavelength and unique transceiver design allow the SONAbeam 155-S to provide up to 16 times the power level of competing products. Higher power translates to greater link range or better weather availability. This results in up to 99.999% availability at practical link ranges in all weather conditions.

Cost-effective and compact, the SONAbeam 155-S not only provides an attractive solution for enterprise applications, its high-reliability and long-life engineering provide a true carrier-class solution able to withstand the rigors of any industrial installation. This rugged, versatile system is not only qualified to operate in any weather environment worldwide, it also complies with all requirements for indoor (including through window) operation.

By transmitting through the atmosphere, SONAbeam dispenses with the substantial costs of digging up sidewalks to install a fiber link. Unlike RF wireless technologies, SONAbeam also eliminates the need to obtain costly spectrum licenses to meet complex regulatory requirements. A SONAbeam link is up to ten times less expensive than laying fiber cable, and less than half as much as comparable microwave/RF wireless systems. Additionally SONAbeam's FSO technology is impervious to and does not generate RF and EM interference. Thus SONAbeam is ideally suited for use in EMI sensitive areas such as hospitals, airports, oil services and construction sites.

Together with the rest of the SONAbeam product family, the new SONAbeam 155-S is ready today to provide the optical connectivity needed for today's bandwidth intensive applications.

About fSONA
fSONA Systems is recognized as the preferred provider of optical wireless solutions for government, enterprise and service provider markets around the globe. Leveraging leading edge advancements in 1550nm optical transmission, the SONAbeam™ family of systems, based on free-space-optics (FSO), use a globally unlicensed, wireless technology to provide speeds up to 2.5 Gbps over distances up to 7km. For more information visit www.fsona.com or www.free-space-optics.org

Further Information
For more information about fSONA, SONAbeam or Free-Space Optical Wireless, please contact:

604-273-6333
media@fsona.com

fSONA and SONAbeam® are trademarks of fSONA Networks. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.